University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Visibility Marketing
Book

Visibility Marketing

The No-Holds-Barred Truth About What It Takes to Grab Attention, Build Your Brand and Win New Business

David Avrin
Career Press, 2016
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

David Avrin, who introduces himself as the “Visibility Coach,” usefully explains which marketing plans and activities work best and which to avoid. He offers meaty information – especially for novices, but he can be repetitious, and his notion that you can create quality copy for an ad or brochure in an hour is unrealistic. However, he offers a sound overview of workable marketing ideas and recommendations, like this basic reminder: “The best way to potentially out-market your competitors is to create products and services that are more marketable.” getAbstract suggests his manual to businesspeople who are either new to marketing or who seek a handy review of the basics.

Summary

Your Company Must Be Special

The department store Nordstrom is well-known for excellent customer service. Service is the attribute that makes Nordstrom special to its customers. The chain’s corporate policies consistently support its customer service mission. It authorizes front-line sales personnel to make any necessary arrangements to ensure that customers are pleased, not just with their individual transactions, but with every Nordstrom experience. The store’s executives teach salespeople that customer satisfaction is more important than profits.

A possibly apocryphal story illustrates how this policy works. Nordstrom agreed, on its usual no-questions-asked basis, to take back a “year-old set of snow tires.” But while the department store offers a wide range of merchandise, it’s not in the tire business. Giving a customer a refund on merchandise purchased elsewhere truly would be over-the-top customer service. People believe this story and like it, whether it is true or not, because it fits perfectly with the Nordstrom narrative and its reputation for excellence in pleasing its clientele.

Just as Nordstrom successfully competes against other important department...

About the Author

David Avrin, an author, consultant and business speaker, is president of The Visibility Coach, an international business coaching organization.

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